Qatar Airways flights to Malta provide more travel options for Maltese diaspora

The Maltese diaspora, especially in Australia, falls squarely within Qatar Airways’s network expansion, which is why it chose to include Malta in its routes, the airline’s CEO said.

Akbar Al Baker said Qatar Airways would provide the Maltese in Australia with another option connecting them to Malta and vice versa.

He was speaking at a media roundtable on Monday morning as the airline formally launched its daily scheduled service between Malta and Doha, in Qatar.

Asked by MaltaToday what made Qatar Airlines choose Malta, Al Baker said the island was at the cross roads of Europe and had a large diaspora living in the network serviced by the airline.

“But the Malta service will also provide Qataris the opportunity to explore the island. Whenever we opened new destinations, Qataris responded well and I believe Malta is another exciting opportunity for them. Qataris are high-spenders, they will stay in five-star hotels and choose fine dining,” he said.

The route could also provide a holiday opportunity for the Maltese, he added.

Qatar Airways started flights between Malta and Doha in June. The airline will provide daily flights during the summer months that will drop to four times a week during the winter.

The Malta-Doha route is operated with an Airbus A320, providing 12 business class seats and 120 economy class seats.

The aircraft also carries 10.5 tonnes of cargo per week between Malta and Qatar.

Qatar Airways is the national airline of Qatar and operates more than 250 aircraft with an average age of five years.

The airline also operates Hamad International Airport in Doha, which was opened five years ago.

Qatar Airways was launched in 1997 and has a worldwide network of more than 160 destinations. The airline won the Airline of the Year award five times in the last eight years, the first company to win the award five times.

Flight Schedule

Doha (DOH) to Malta (MLA) QR381 departs 01:05 arrives 06:45 (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) 

Malta (MLA) to Doha (DOH) QR 382 departs 09:20 arrives 15:55 (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) 

Doha (DOH) to Malta (MLA) QR383 departs 08:05 arrives 13:25 (Tues, Thurs, Sat)

Malta (MLA) to Doha (DOH) QR384 departs 17:45 arrives 00:20 +1 (Tues, Thurs, Sat)